Mastercard Collaborates With the Cyber Security
Weekly news up to Monday, 9th of February 2026
Hey FinTech Fanatic!
Last week in the Future of Banking, I covered how resilience, real-time infrastructure, and cross-border capability are becoming core banking priorities rather than optional upgrades. The focus was clearly on how banks operate in a more connected, always-on environment.
That showed up in Mastercard working with the UAE’s Cyber Security Council to strengthen digital resilience, Moonrise by Lunar enabling instant payments in Norway, Akbank going live on Mambu in Germany, and Cake Digital Bank rethinking cross-border receivables through Visa.
Here’s what stood out across FinTech, Payments, and Digital Banking in the Future of Banking last week 👇
Cheers,
👀 NEWS HIGHLIGHT
Through this collaboration, both entities will work together to advance cybersecurity resilience by sharing global best practices and supporting the development of forward‑looking cybersecurity policies.
NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK’S NEWS
🔦 DIGITAL BANKING HIGHLIGHTS
⭐️ Moonrise by Lunar launches instant payments in Norway via NICS Real. By connecting directly to NICS Real, Moonrise enables partners to send and receive Norwegian Krone (NOK) in real time, 24/7/365. Continue reading
⭐️ Akbank goes live on Mambu core in Germany. Operating under a German banking licence from BaFin, the division serves customers in Germany and the wider EU market, providing banking services and supporting cross‑border financial activity between Europe and Turkey.
⭐️ Cake Digital Bank pioneers bank-led cross-border receivables with Visa. By integrating cross-border receivables within an onshore digital banking framework, it reduces reliance on intermediary layers while improving transparency, settlement efficiency, and oversight of international cash flows.
⭐️ Hype launches SplitHype. The new feature is designed to simplify group expense management and reduce friction, billing, and arguments among friends, families, or roommates. It is integrated directly into the app and is available to all Hype customers, regardless of their plan.
🌎 REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
UK 🇬🇧
Finastra launches cloud-native tool for commercial lending. The platform is aimed at helping lenders replace manual workflows with a more scalable and integrated cloud-based approach. The solution uses modular deployment and licensing, allowing it to be deployed on its own or alongside other components within the LaserPro Lending Platform.
Clear Junction launches onChain stablecoin pay-in service. onChain Stablecoin Pay-In is designed for banks, electronic money institutions, and money service businesses. Through their own apps or online banking environments, clients can offer their customers stablecoin-based prefunding while maintaining a fiat-first operational experience.
Revolut ramps up legal hiring amid expansion drive. Revolut is planning to grow its legal team by 15% in a bid to keep up with rapid expansion at the digital bank. The London-based FinTech is hiring for 29 legal roles globally, including in the UK, Europe, the Middle East, North America, and Asia, according to job postings.
Revolut is boosting the team that runs share sales without Wall Street. The FinTech is looking to bolster its corporate development team in London, where it’s headquartered. It’s working to recruit an investment banker, asset manager, or person with venture capital experience to oversee transactions, including potential mergers and acquisitions, as it stays private for longer.
Starling supercharges savings offering with new Cash ISA and revamped easy saver. This move allows users to effortlessly segment their tax-efficient savings for different life goals, a key differentiator in the crowded market. Starling’s top investor withdraws support for London IPO. Harald McPike, who invested $70m in Starling in 2016 and still holds around a third of the bank, is said to believe the company is increasingly open to a US listing despite his earlier opposition.
UK Crypto Neobank Plutus raises $2.3m on base with PlusMore. This move reinforces Plutus’ commitment to security, governance, and community-driven adoption, while ensuring that PlusMore users holding PLUS can enjoy both immediate and long-term benefits through its RaaS ecosystem.
Chase enters the UK insurance market. The new product is a bundle of worldwide travel insurance, mobile phone insurance, and AA UK breakdown cover, available for a fixed monthly rate of £12.50. Customers can purchase and manage their cover and submit any claims via the Chase app.
myTU taps Intrepid Fox to automate business onboarding. The integration is designed to enable small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and FinTech clients to open fully operational accounts within minutes, rather than days. Keep reading
Starling founder Anne Boden cuts stake in £4bn FinTech. Anne Boden cut her holdings in the digital bank to near 2.7% from a previous 4.3%. It comes after Starling launched a secondary share sale last year in a bid to enable its current investors to sell down stakes and open up new opportunities.
EUROPE 🇪🇺
Wero is now available at Banking Circle. The initiative is designed to simplify cross-border payments and scale adoption across Europe, aligning with Banking Circle’s role as a modern-infrastructure bank supporting payment service providers as new schemes and volumes emerge.
Sumeria partners with Mistral AI. The company has launched a simplified bank transfer feature that uses Mistral AI’s latest OCR models to allow users to initiate payments directly from documents without manual data entry. Read more
SME Bank selects Flagright for real‑time transaction monitoring and watchlist screening. The partnership aims to strengthen SME Bank’s financial crime controls while maintaining fast, scalable operations. SME Bank provides digital banking and lending services to small and medium-sized enterprises as it expands across the region.
Russia's Sberbank plans crypto-backed loans to corporate clients. Sberbank is moving to offer loans secured by cryptocurrency and says it is ready to work with the central bank on a regulatory framework. Sberbank's planned program will extend crypto-backed lending beyond miners to businesses holding digital assets.
USA 🇺🇸
SoFi hits billion-dollar milestone. The results, released on January 30, 2026, showcased a powerhouse performance across its lending and financial services segments, driven by record-breaking loan volumes and a surge in new member acquisitions.
Varo Bank announces growth investment led by Coliseum Capital Management. The all-digital, nationally chartered US bank also added former Executives Alice Milligan and Kevin Watters to its board. Varo uses technology-driven banking and lending products to expand access to credit and reported $547 million in lending volume in 2025.
Merchant Rentals partners with FreedomPay to deliver flexible financing solutions for merchants. By collaborating with Merchant Rentals, FreedomPay can now offer merchants access to tailored leasing and financing options for POS technology, meeting growing demand for flexibility and affordability in the retail and hospitality sectors.
Superform expands to the U.S. with mobile app launch for a user-owned neobank. The app is designed for users who want a simpler way to grow their money without the stress of managing wallets, understanding protocols, or navigating multiple chains. Users can create an account, onramp with fiat, and start earning in minutes.
EnFi’s $15 million fundraise pushes agentic AI into bank credit decisions, promising enhanced operational efficiency and competitive positioning for smaller institutions against larger national banks. The company will focus on broader rollout to transform credit workflows at its target institutions in the coming months.
CANADA 🇨🇦
Neo Financial secures $68.5m in oversubscribed Canadian-led round. Neo said the capital will be used to launch its inaugural securitization program. By securitizing its credit assets, Neo is adopting a capital-efficient funding model long used by large banks, allowing it to scale its lending portfolio without relying exclusively on equity-funded growth.
LATAM
Juspay accelerates its expansion with one year in Brazil and over US$50 million in cash. According to Shakthidhar Bhaskar, Expansion Director at Juspay, the new capital injection will help the company maintain the investment plan announced when it arrived in the country.
Qik launches remittances to receive money from abroad. With this feature, the bank said that funds sent from abroad are credited in less than 30 minutes. This benefit applies to remittances from the United States and other countries whose remittance companies operate with Visa Direct.
Columbia Bank inks $597m merger with Northfield Bank. As part of the move, Columbia will undertake a second-step conversion to transition from its mutual holding company structure to a fully public stock holding company. This process involves the creation of a new holding company to serve as the parent of the combined banks.
Global66 reports historic growth in 2025. During 2025, the platform facilitated the transfer of US$3.7 billion from Chile abroad, representing an explosive growth of 157% compared to the previous year. Continue reading
Naranja X, part of Grupo Financiero Galicia, applies for a banking license in Mexico, to be authorized to operate as a multiple banking institution under the Credit Institution Law. With its launch in the country, Galicia´s unit would join other virtual wallets and neobanks of Argentine origin, such as MercadoLibre and Uala.
ASIA
Revolut plans to triple its Singapore workforce within three years. Revolut said Singapore will serve as its base to develop and scale products and services for Asian markets, as the company evaluates expansion into additional countries across the region. Additionally, Revolut surpasses Banca Transilvania in terms of the number of customers. The official figure sent by Revolut is 4.9 million Revolut card users, while Banca Transilvania announced that it has 4.6 million card users in BT Pay.
KakaoBank gains 93.3 billion won from Superbank listing in Indonesia. The gain, which represents more than 20% of KakaoBank’s 2024 net income on a pre-tax basis, underscores the bank’s strategy of enhancing corporate value through overseas expansion and continued cooperation with Superbank.
Upbit partner KBank files stablecoin wallet trademarks ahead of IPO. In its IPO registration statement, the bank said it plans to use proceeds from the offering to accelerate its digital asset business, among other initiatives. Continue reading
Kbank seeks IPO for 3rd time as it lowers offering price by 20%, in a move to lock in investor demand after two failed listings, the internet-only lender said. The highly conservative pricing prioritizes market acceptance over ambition, reflecting challenging capital market conditions.
Over 400 Indian banks shift to secure ‘.bank.in’ domain to boost cybersecurity, complying with RBI mandate. This new top-level domain (TLD) is exclusive to verified banking institutions, making it easier for customers to distinguish genuine bank websites from fraudulent or phishing sites that often mimic official portals to steal credentials or carry out financial fraud.
AUSTRALIA 🇦🇺
Revolut unveils unified payments platform for Australia. The company said Australian businesses can accept payments, settle funds, and manage payment operations through a single platform alongside their business account. Additionally, Revolut Business enters Singapore’s merchant payments market, allowing businesses to accept online and in-person payments from a single platform. The launch brings merchant acquiring into the Revolut Business account, combining account-to-account, online, and in-store payments.
ANZ launches agentic AI-powered CRM to transform business banking. The new CRM platform helps deliver improved customer outcomes and helps bankers work smarter and automate routine tasks. The technology will support in boosting bankers' capability and productivity, allowing more time for bankers to focus on customers.
MIDDLE EAST
Du Pay and Deem Finance partner to launch Flexi Cash Loan. Flexi Cash Loan is a new digital cash lending product designed to provide customers with fast, convenient access to short-term credit directly within the du Pay wallet. Keep reading
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
Aeon Bank CEO Raja Teh Maimunah to step down on March 31. Raja Teh joined the bank three years ago and steered Aeon Bank through its inception as a digital bank. She said her tenure at the bank was a "profound honour and a once-in-a-lifetime privilege."
Tandem Bank announces Ryan Heaps as New Finance Chief. Ryan, a chartered accountant with over 15 years’ experience in senior finance roles. The appointment is a testament to Tandem’s focus on nurturing internal talent and its investment in developing a strong pipeline of future leaders from within the bank.
ClearBank hires Visa's Neil Drennan as CTO. He brings over 15 years of experience across the media and financial services industry, including roles at 10x Future Technologies and Amazon. At ClearBank, Drennan will lead the evolution and enhancement of the company's cloud-based API and payments infrastructure.